"This damned tower had better be worth the effort, that's all I'm saying," Jack grumbled and glared toward crest of the hill SG-1 was currently scaling.  "Why do aliens always have to build these 'oh so damned fascinating we just have to check them out' buildings on top of huge, honking hills anyway? Frigging inconsiderate, you ask me.  And exactly why is it we find this particular structure so damned fascinating, again?"

"That's where the energy readings are coming from, Sir," Carter said, tossing a grin at Daniel trudging silently beside her, a fondly exasperated smile pulling at his mouth at this latest in a seemingly unending series of complaints being offered up by the constantly carping man behind them.

"It would also seem this tower is the only structure within the area scanned by the UAV to have escaped the almost total destruction of the other urban centres on this world," Teal'c patiently explained, his powerful strides briskly and seemingly effortlessly devouring the difficult ground beneath them and consequently setting a pace at least one of his team mates was having personal, and far from silent issues with.  "That would seem to indicate the structure enjoyed some sort of protection the cities did not and that, as well as its unique position so close to the gate makes it worthy of investigation."

"Definitely worth checking out in my book, Sir," Carter added.  "The tower is extremely conspicuous; it’s sending out a regular signal, some sort of navigational guide, or a distress beacon, perhaps, which would certainly have drawn attention to it, and yet it's completely unharmed while the cities themselves – well, the Goa'uld didn't leave much standing, did they?"

"Or anyone around to tell us exactly what happened here and save us a trip," Jack grunted.  "Whatever went down here, something really pissed the Goa'uld off.  They're not usually quite so hard on the real estate."

"Indeed," Teal'c rumbled.  "The degree of destruction we have witnessed on this world is most unusual.  As a rule the Goa'uld do not wantonly destroy structures constructed by advanced cultures such as this one must have been.  After they have subjugated the population and secured the technology it is customary for them to assimilate and adapt the residents and their cities to their own uses."   The Jaffa passed, taking several strides forward before continuing.  "Perhaps the planet was razed as a retaliatory measure."

"Against whom? For what?" Jack asked.

"I've been thinking about that," Daniel tossed back over his shoulder to Jack.  "Obviously there were people here once, and now, there aren't.  The natural assumption is of course, the Goa'uld took them all away, used them as slaves and hosts…wherever, but I wonder.  I mean, like Teal'c said, if the Goa'uld conquered this planet and relocated the population than why destroy the cities?  Obviously they could, because they did, but since they could, they didn't need to.  I agree with Teal'c the Goa'uld don't usually destroy stuff they can use.  It doesn't make sense."

"Why invent the wheel when you can steal someone else's?"  Jack quipped.

"Yeah," Daniel nodded.  "So what happened here?  There's definitely more going on than meets the eye, something that set the Goa'uld off, but I have no idea what. But there was something.  Such deliberate, wholesale, systematic destruction, not only is it unusually extravagant, it's just not their style.  Like Teal'c says, they're scavengers and opportunists, not – "

"Maybe they didn't find what they were looking for," Jack said with a shrug.

"Call me a killjoy but it doesn't look like much," Jack drawled as he squinted at the featureless white silo soaring up into the sky before them.  That's exactly what the structure they were advancing toward reminded him of, a grain silo, except it was gleaming white and at least twice the height of any he'd ever seen.  Oh, and the thing blinking away on the very top was different as well.

"It's big, anyway," he finally conceded.

"But Sir," Carter said, gesturing toward the level grassy expanse between them and the tower.  "No damage.  Absolutely none to the tower itself and the terrain – even if the original attack happened a long time ago and the grass and weather erosion reclaimed the blasted areas there's still no sign there was any sort of strike on this plateau or the tower.  None whatsoever. The ground is completely uniform and flat.  No evidence of any blast craters or weapons fire on the ground, and the tower doesn't show any battle damage either.  No matter what the rest of the planet looks like there aren't any indications this area was fired upon at all.  I find that interesting.  Don't you find that interesting, Sir?"

"Why yes, Carter, as a matter of fact I do," Jack flashed her a jaunty grin.  "I just didn't want to deprive you of the pleasure of pointing it out to me."

"This is amazing," Daniel enthused.  "My God, if they had this kind of technology why didn't they use it to protect their cities – their planet?  Why just this one building?"

"What if they couldn't?" Sam offered.  "We don't know anything about the capabilities of the technology, how exactly it functioned or how great an area it could cover, its power consumption requirements among other things.  All of which would have been factors dictating how and to what extent the technology could be used.  Perhaps using it on a planetary scale wasn't a practical option.  Or maybe they didn't have time to do anything more than use it to protect this one building."

"Or maybe what they were protecting – they considered it more important than anything else – themselves even."

"That is also a possibility DanielJackson," Teal'c nodded.

"I wonder what's in there," Daniel mused, his eyes rapt and distant.

"Well, we're not gonna find out standing here, now are we, kids," Jack pointedly interjected.

"Good point," Daniel acknowledged with a wry smile. 

"I'm so glad you agree. What do you say we combine some forward locomotion with the theorizing?  That is unless you want to spend the afternoon admiring the edifice in question from afar."

"Not me, Sir," Carter chimed in, starting to stride forward, Teal'c at her side.  "I don't know about you guys but I've got plans."

"Oh?"  Jack perked up as he and Daniel exchanged glances.  He could see the tone of Carter's last remark had piqued the archaeologist's curiosity as much as it had his own.  "Plans, Carter?" he lightly teased. "What, gotta a hot date or something?"

"Why yes, Sir, as a matter of fact I do."  Sam archly shot back over her shoulder and then continued to walk away.

"Carter!  You dog!"  Jack hooted.  "You don't!"

"Jack!"  Daniel scolded, whacking him on the arm.

"Do too!"  Sam sung out as Jack whacked Daniel back.

"Jack!"  Daniel snapped again, grabbing him by the arm.  "Behave yourself!"

His eyes twinkling dangerously, Jack blew him an insouciant kiss before giving Daniel a shove and hastening after Sam before Daniel could recover and stop him.

"Get outta town!  I want details!" Jack happily demanded as he closed on his 2IC.

"No way, Sir," Sam ignored him, grinning at Teal'c.

"Aw come on, Carter," Jack wheedled as Daniel caught up to them, glaring at Jack and falling into step beside him.  "Just a name."

"No," Sam said stubbornly.

"Initials, then?"  Jack suggested hopefully.

"N.O."

"Aw Carter, you’re no fun anymore! One initial?"

"Sorry."

"Shoe size?"

"Forget it, Sir, you're wasting your time."

"Can we watch?"  Jack leered.

"Jack!"  Daniel yelled, punching him in the arm.

The teasing and good-natured violence continued as SG-1 approached the gleaming tower.  They were within ten feet of its wide, open arch-shaped entranceway when Daniel spoke again.

"Um guys, wait up for a minute," he said.  "I just thought of something."

"Daniel?"  Jack demanded, immediately sobered by the serious tone of Daniel's voice and the expression on his face.

"Okay, so far we haven't had any problems getting this close to the tower but seeing as how everything we've seen, that is, when it comes to actually trying to go inside, well, if these people, whoever they were went to such great lengths to keep the Goa'uld from destroying the tower don't you think it's reasonable to assume they'd be just as determined to keep them from entering it?  If they wanted to protect whatever is inside, that is?"

"Yeah Daniel," Jack nodded.  "I think that's a damned reasonable assumption to make.

"Assuming of course the protective mechanism is still active and functioning," Sam added.

"I think it would be safer for Teal'c if we went with assuming it is," Jack countered, turning to Teal’c and shrugging.  "Sorry big guy, but Daniel's right.  I think it would be best if you sat this one out."

"I concur, O'Neill," Teal'c replied with a solemn nod.

"You might not be able to go in either, Sam," Daniel added with an apologetic glance to the astrophysicist.

"If the technology is sensitive to the presence of the symbiote I should be fine," Sam answered, looking longingly at the looming arch and the shadowed interior of the tower it tantalizingly revealed.

"But not if Naquadah is what makes it go off."  Daniel gently added.  "We don't want you to get hurt, either, Sam."

"I'm willing to risk it, Sir," Sam said quickly, turning to her CO hopeful and determined.

"Well, we don't know anything is going to happen.  This thing's batteries could be dead or something," Jack said, waving at the tower.  "But just to be on the safe side, I'll go through first."

Daniel hung his head to hide his worried expression from his lover.  He wanted to be the first one to go in for the same reason Jack had claimed the privilege, but he also knew there was no way Jack would ever let anyone, and most especially him take any risks he wasn't prepared to take himself.  If it wasn't safe no one would suffer except him.  Jack was too much of a protector to behave any other way.  It was who Jack was, a large part of the reason why Daniel loved him, but at the same time…

"It'll be fine," Jack whispered to Daniel as he sidled past him, gripped his P-90 confidently and strode toward the archway. 

The instant Jack was in the centre of the arch a low, muted humming sound issued from the darkened interior of the tower. "Well I guess that answers that question," he said to his apprehensive team mates while casting a wary glance at the ceiling overhead.  He took another step and the humming hitched up a notch.  Jack froze as a soft, diffused cloud of sparkling bluish mist oozed out of the walls of the arch, like liquid light, completely enveloping his body without obscuring him from the view of the rest of SG-1.

"Jack?"  Daniel said anxiously.

Jack held out his arm, waggled his fingers in the glowing mist and then smiled.  "It's fine!" he hollered and shrugged.  Kinda tickles, actually."

The blue, blinking miasma hung in the air for a few more seconds and then abruptly vanished.  The interior lights of the tower snapped on. 

"Wow," Jack peered down the newly revealed corridor leading to a circular chamber in the very centre of the tower. "I guess I passed," he grinned back at the wary faces of the trio standing on the outside.  "And I never even studied."

"I'd like to try next, Sir," Sam eagerly offered.

Jack frowned and then nodded.  "I don't like it, but whatever is in here, if we're talking alien gizmos you're probably the one best qualified to make any sense out of them, if there is any sense to be made.  Ah!  Ah!" He admonished sternly, forestalling her enthusiastic plunge forward with restraining finger.  "Easy, Major.  Let's take this slow.  Daniel, keep an eye on her.  Carter, if you so much as hiccup we're pulling you out.  I don't want any arguments.  You understand?"

"Yes Sir," Sam nodded, her CO's concern taking the reckless edge off her enthusiasm.  As much as she was dying to see what was in that tower she took his point about needing to be careful.

Sam smiled reassuringly at the two men flanking her and started to walk toward the man anxiously watching her from within the structure.

She'd barely crossed the threshold before the mist came quickly hissing out at her, making a sinister, almost accusatory sound as it rapidly issued forth and billowed about her.

"Wow!"  Sam yelped as she was literally pushed back out the way she had come so forcefully she bounced off Teal'c who'd stepped forward to reach for her the instant she'd cried out.

"Sam!"  Daniel yelled almost the same time as Jack hollered, "Carter!"

"It's okay, guys," Sam's assurance was shaky and she glanced up to smile gratefully at the huge black man steadying her until she recovered from her unexpected and precipitous ejection.  "I'm okay.  It didn't – didn't hurt me, just – sort of – pushed me back.

"Spat you out, you mean," Jack said, eyeing her sceptically.  "Are you sure you're all right?" he demanded, his voice laced with concern as he carefully watched her from his position within the tower’s interior.

Sam shrugged and grimaced.  "Yes Sir," she unhappily informed him.  "But I guess this means I don't pass."

"So, Naquadah it is, then," Jack agreed with an rueful expression.  "And if this joint doesn't like you I think it's pretty much a given it'll positively hate Teal'c."

"I believe that would be a reasonable assumption, O'Neill."

"So you're definitely sitting this one out, big guy. Daniel," Jack continued, turning his attention to the remaining member of the party.  "Looks like it's just you and me, kiddo."

Sam handed the camcorder to Daniel with a heavy sigh, making no effort to hide her bitter disappointment at being excluded.

"Make sure you record everything, Daniel," she said enviously and she knew, unnecessarily.

"I will, Sam," Daniel kindly reassured her, as disappointed for her sake as she was.  "We won't be long," he promised.

"I'll second that!" Jack called out from inside the tower.  "Daniel!  Let's go!"

Daniel nodded, turned away from Sam and Teal'c and walked into the arch.

The instant he crossed the threshold the mist immediately flowed out to greet him, as it had for the two preceding members of SG-1.  Also as it had for Jack the low non-threatening hum accompanying the light bath similarly serenaded him.

“Way to go, Daniel, it likes you.” Jack’s tone was bantering, but his eyes were wary as he darted his glance all about, not taking anything for granted. 

Daniel kept walking toward him, enjoying the mildly caressing feeling of the mist upon his skin.  It was oddly…soothing…calming, actually…and really, really…nice…  

“Whoa, this is cool!” Daniel started to say when the friendly hum buzzing about him abruptly changed, suddenly increasing in volume and pitch at an alarming rate.

"Hold on, what's happening?" Jack had already entered the inner chamber and whirled about, instantly responding to the alarming sounds behind him, his apprehension clearly showing on his face.

"Daniel, what did you do?" Jack accusingly demanded of his perplexed partner.

"Nothing.  I didn't – I just – " Daniel yelled over the rapidly increasing din, his eyes anxiously darting about. 

"This is different from what to happened to me.  Different usually is not good.  Daniel - are you all right? Goddamned alien technology," Jack glared spitefully at the uncaring white walls around him.

"It's okay, Jack, I'm – " Daniel started to reassure him and then stopped, his eyes widening with disbelief.

He was looking right at Jack and then Jack was - was gone.  He’d vanished!  Just – just…wasn't there.  Jack was gone, but he wasn’t alone. 

Oh my God, what was happening here?  Where was Jack and where – where had they come from?

The tower was full of people; crowding around him, crushing into him, clutching at him, grabbing, holding out imploring hands, their voices loud and confusing in his ears, deafening.  Calling to him, they were calling but he couldn't understand…too many of them, there were too many so close, frightening, confusing – too much, it was too much – stop, please stop –

"Daniel!"  Jack howled as a blinding wall of searing light blanked out the entire entranceway tunnel, completely obliterating Daniel.  He was gone.  Poof.  Like he'd been whited-out from existence.  The terrifying effect lasted for only an instant but for that agonisingly long period of uncertainty when he couldn't see Daniel at all, it was as if Daniel had ceased to exist, and Jack was deathly afraid he was actually…gone.

Then the whiteout effect blinked off and Jack could see everything once more.  The stark walls of the entranceway leading to the outside, Carter and Teal'c's strained faces peering anxiously inward from behind the unseen barrier they could not cross, Daniel….   

Daniel!

Daniel, not standing where he had been before the frightening flash had swallowed him up.  He was down, Daniel was down, lying in an insensate, crumpled heap on the pristine archway floor. 

"Hold on a sec, Teal'c, I think he's coming around."

Jack.  That was Jack's voice.  Jack? 

Daniel groaned. His head was housing a noisy swarm of angry bees hurling themselves at the inside of his skull making it painfully throb in time with the annoying buzzing sound in his ears.  He felt like crap and he had no idea why.  Wait a minute, wait, oh yeah, he'd been with Jack, on P8X-807 about to go into the tower, he'd been talking to Sam, before joining Jack, yeah he remembered that but then…but what – where –

"Jack!"  Daniel cried as he hurled himself back into full awareness, panicked and disoriented.

"Easy, Danny," Jack soothed, arresting Daniel's abrupt and distressed upward surge with a gentle hand on his shoulder.  "Take it easy, buddy, relax," he further counselled, smiling reassuringly into Daniel's confused and apprehensive eyes and gently pushing him back down on the grass.  "No rush, get your bearings."

"What – what happened?" Daniel croaked, not finding it easy to speak because he'd suddenly discovered his mouth was so dry his tongue felt like sandpaper.  "Why – why am I – "

His eyes widened in astonishment as for the first time he realised he was flat on his back on the ground, the anxious faces of his team mates hovering all over his field of vision blotting out the sky overhead while their fiercely protective nearness hemmed him in as efficiently.

"You got zapped, Daniel, by that weird white light in the tower, don't you remember?"  Jack told him with an earnest attempt at a 'no big deal, just a scratch and by the way I wasn't going out of my mind worrying about you' grin not fooling either one of them.

"What?"  Daniel blinked, wishing all the banging in his head would go away so he could hear properly, he could have sworn Jack just said...

"What are you talking about, I haven't even gone in yet, I was about to, but – " he faltered, suddenly uncertain of his certainty as the concern on his companions' faces etched up a notch in response to his protest.  Even though he could swear he hadn’t been, hadn’t the slightest recollection of being in there, never mind of this light Jack was talking about, the way they were staring at him, it was true, he had been...what Jack said.  In there.  But if he had, why couldn’t he remember?

"He could be suffering from traumatic amnesia, Sir," Carter abruptly said.  "It's not uncommon for accident victims to be unable to recall the details of the incident especially if they suffer any sort of head trauma."

"Well, he didn't get bumped on the head he got zapped," Jack shot back at her as he gave Daniel's shoulder a rough but reassuring squeeze.

"Then his memory loss could be a result of the exposure to the alien energy," Sam returned.  "I don't know, Sir but maybe we should find out if Daniel's memory has been affected in any other ways."

"Good idea," Jack nodded, turning back to Daniel, his eyes twinkling.  "Quick Daniel, what colour are your shorts?"

"Fuck off, Jack," Daniel snorted as he closed his eyes and massaged his throbbing forehead with the heel of his hand.

"He sounds all right to me," Jack shrugged.

"That remains to be seen, O'Neill," Teal'c gravely added, noting Daniel's pained grimace as.  "Are you in distress, DanielJackson?"

"Um no, I'm – well, maybe just a little," Daniel conceded without opening his eyes.  "Headache," he admitted, pinching the bridge of his nose.  "There's this – this buzzing in my ears but I'm sure it's noth – wait a minute – " he asked, concerned, finally opening his eyes and looking immediately to Jack.  "Where are my glasses?"

 "Got 'em right here, Danny," Jack assured him, lightly patting one of the chest pockets of his vest.

"That's good, and thank you, now can I have them, please?"

"I'll hold on to them, just to be on the safe side," Jack said, taking Daniel by the hand, preparing to help him up.  "You gonna be okay going back?"

"Jack, I told you I'm – what do you mean, going back?"  Daniel demanded as he sat up.  "What about the survey of the tower?  We're not finished yet.  We haven't checked it out, recorded anything, we can't just leave."

The buzzing in his head suddenly snapped and crackled as the swarm of thwarted bees inside his skull morphed into psycho wasps, Daniel's alarm at Jack's suggestion they depart immediately sympathetically spiking with the increased amplitude and agitation of the angry, incessant whine.

They couldn't – he certainly couldn't.  He couldn't go with the job not done.   Walk away? He wasn't finished!  And he had to, he had to finish it, do something, it was important, he knew that, he wasn't sure what or why but he did know it was important and he couldn't –

He couldn't leave yet!

"Oh yes we can and yes we are," Jack's steely, implacable eyes belied the indulgent smile on his face.  "In case it slipped your mind you were attacked, Daniel, by whatever those aliens left behind in there."

"Attack is kind of a strong word, don't you think," Daniel quickly replied, trying to swallow his panic in order to make a frontal assault on Jack's reasonable side.  Jack did have one, even though his colonel would rather eat liver than admit it.  Usually, he could make Jack listen.  Usually.  He just had to stay calm and go for the throat.

"Daniel, something in that place gave Carter the heave-ho and zapped you unconscious.  That rates as an attack in my book."

"How long was I out?"  Daniel stubbornly rebutted.

“I don't know,” Jack glared at him.  “Not long, less than a minute, I think. The point is - "

"So no big deal," Daniel grinned. 

"I dunno," Jack frowned at him.  "I'm starting to think brain damage, myself.  Do you not understand what just happened here? Something in that building knocked you out.  Cold.  C.O.L.D, Daniel.  For a minute or an hour or a week, makes no difference how long you were out, you were out, something in that place laid you out flat and for the third time, I'd call that an attack."

"But maybe it wasn't supposed to be," Daniel insisted.

"Well, if it's all the same to you, if that's the way the folks who used to live here say hello, I'd just as soon pass on finding out what they do for 'pleased to meet you'."

"But maybe that's exactly what they were trying to do," Daniel ignored Jack's increasingly irritated expression and pressed on. "After all, you walked through with no ill effects, right?  Maybe whatever it is was  - was – I don't know – "

"And maybe it let me through because the doohickey in there protecting the place, or whatever, needed time to get its range," Jack flatly returned, his mouth set in an implacable, unfriendly line.  "So now it's all primed and ready to fry the next person who walks through."

"Why do you always automatically assume everyone out here is trying to kill us?"

"Because everyone out here usually is trying to kill us!"

"But not necessarily in this instance!"  Daniel stubbornly returned.  "You're fine, right?"

"Excuse me?" Jack blurted.

"If what you just said is true – then the next person through after me should have been zapped as well and they weren't – you weren't.  The next person – after me, I mean - was you.  You were already inside, you had to pass through the arch again to get back outside and bring me out too.  You're the one who carried me out, it had to have been you, Sam and Teal'c couldn't have done it, so you've walked through a second time.  Did anything happen?"

"Well, no it didn't," Jack grudgingly admitted. "But that doesn't mean   - "

"See!  See!"  Daniel said triumphantly, scrambling to his feet.  "Nothing happened to you.  That's why I'm sure it'll be safe to go back in, I'm sure it'll be fine, we can just go in there and check it out and – "

"Daniel, knock if off you're wasting your time," Jack snapped.  "This is a non-negotiable issue.   Frankly the brain damage thing is looking more and more plausible and I think getting you back to the SGC and checked out pronto – "

"Okay, okay, whatever," Daniel threw his hands up, exasperated. "I'll let Janet look me over if that'll make you happy, although I really don't think it's necessary, I'm fine.  And then - but we are coming back," Daniel insisted, looking to Sam for back up.  He hadn't missed the internal battle she'd been waging during the entire debate, soldier versus scientist and he was hoping the scientist would come out swinging and weigh in on his side.

"Not a chance," Jack grunted.  "Ah!" he warned Sam, who'd opened her mouth to interject and then shut it again as her CO waved an admonishing finger in front of her face.  "I don't care what the hell is in that place, in my opinion the potential threat isn't worth the risk."

"I would concur, DanielJackson," Teal'c grimly echoed.

"He's right, Daniel," Sam finally added unhappily. "I don't like it any better than you, but there's no way to know the intentions of the builders of this place for sure or exactly what the technology is supposed to do and is capable of, so whatever is in there – and we don't even know for sure if there is anything – it's not worth risking lives for.  Especially as it has already demonstrated it is capable of taking aggressive action against intruders."

"What she said," Jack growled at him.

The buzzing chaos in Daniel's head was almost as overwhelming as his panic.  As the sound swelled into a shrill, urgent crescendo Daniel cast desperate eyes at the entranceway behind Jack.  He could do it; it wasn't far, he could run for it, he'd make it and once he was inside he could – he could –

"Daniel, snap out of it!"  Jack yelled at him, grabbing him by the arm and roughly shaking him.  "That frigging does it – we are so out of here!  You're seeing Frasier now!"

The instant Jack whirled him around and gave him a shove gate-ward the shrieking stopped, like a balloon popping.  The cessation of both the sound and the accompanying sense of urgent compulsion left Daniel reeling and disoriented.  And not exactly sure what had happened in the past few minutes or why Jack had band of steel fingers wrapped around his upper arm and was motoring him away from the tower at an extremely brisk clip.

"Jack?" he said casting a bewildered glance back at the tower they were swiftly striding away from.  "What – "

"We've done this already, Daniel," Jack glared at the man he was all but dragging along beside him, clenching his teeth as he stuffed his rising concern back down and swallowed it.  "You, zap, boom, fall down, wake up, start talking crazy, we take you back to the SGC so ole Doc Frasier can check you over."

Of course!  He remembered now!  He'd been knocked out by that – whatever it was in the tower.  What had he been thinking, of course Jack was right to insist he get medical attention, who knew what that alien energy field had done to him, why in the world had he been arguing with Jack about it, it was just common sense, not to mention – dammit!  Jack was probably worried sick about him and he wasn't helping acting like a space case and fighting with him.

"Sorry, Jack," Daniel offered, giving the man beside him an extremely sincere, rueful smile.  "I guess what happened to me in there shook me up more than I realised.  Of course, you're absolutely right, I need to have my head examined."

"I've been saying that for years," Jack grumbled, his tone still dripping with affront but a faint smile quirked at the corner of his lip.  Jack's dark eyes slid sideways, flickering over Daniel's face, seeing the contrition written there.

Apology accepted.  Jack said without saying a word.

"You can let go of me now, I'll be coming quietly," Daniel murmured in a low, sultry tone he only ever used with Jack, and then only in the bedroom.  The way Jack's eyes immediately darted back, flaring in response, he was getting the rest of Daniel's unspoken message loud and clear.

"That's okay, I don't mind hanging on if you don't," Jack murmured.

"I don't," Daniel grinned.  "Sorry," he whispered once more after they'd taken a few more steps.

"I know.  It's okay.  How's the head."

"Good.  It's getting better."

"That's good."

"Jack, can I have my glasses back, please.  I can't see."

"You don't need to, I'm driving.  They'll be fine with me until we get back."

"Jack, I've been wearing glasses since I was six, I'm not going to break them."

"You broke a pair last week."

"Now that's not fair, that wasn't my fault how was I supposed to know – "

"Daniel, shut up and walk.   You're giving me a headache."

"You're sure you experienced no other effects?  A brief period of unconsciousness, a headache, ringing in your ears and slight temporary memory loss?  That’s all, Daniel?"

"Well he was acting a bit over-the-top obsessed about wanting to go back into the damned tower again after the thing cold-cocked him, but I guess for him that's nothing out of the ordinary," Jack helpfully informed the petite doctor before Daniel could respond.

"No, there was nothing else," Daniel answered her after balefully glaring at Jack.

That was right, wasn't it?  What he’d told Janet, that's all that had happened.  Daniel frowned as uncertainty tickled his awareness with a teasing feeler – a faint reminder there was something – something else…

"Are you sure, Doctor Jackson?" Janet asked, not missing the troubled expression on his face.

"Yeah," Daniel assured her, forcing a bright smile.  "That's all."

It was the truth, wasn't it?

Of course it was.  He was almost positive…

"Okay then," Janet smiled.  "I don't see any reason to keep you here, Daniel, you check out just fine, you no longer seem to be suffering any physical after effects of the incident, basically from what I can see you're fine."

"So you're cutting him loose, then?"  Jack interjected a little too quickly and eagerly.

"That's what I said, Colonel," Janet murmured, making a notation in Daniel's file, her eyes deliberately averted from the colonel's face so she wouldn't accidentally see any betraying traces in it about a quality of concern for Daniel the colonel shouldn't be exhibiting and she shouldn't know about.  "Get some rest, get a good night's sleep, and we'll see you both in the morning," she smiled at the man happily jumping off the examining table.

"Oh and Daniel," she added, touching him lightly on the arm.  "The next alien building you go into, let the Colonel go first," she teased.

"I did go first!"  Jack sniffed haughtily, sweeping Daniel away from her and swiftly out of the infirmary, a firm hand in the small of his back subtly taking possession while emphatically propelling.

"Keys," Jack demanded once they left the gear-up room, having showered and changed.

"What?" Daniel blankly stared at the man loping down the corridor at his side.

"You don't think you're driving, now do you?" Jack replied, his expression clearly conveying there was only one right answer to the question.

"Um, well I could, but – I – I guess….no."

"Exactly," Jack smiled.  "I'm driving.  But we took your car this morning because my truck's in the shop.  Remember?"  The emphasis Jack put on the last word and the way he was eyeing Daniel betrayed Jack's less than total conviction of either Daniel's assertions or Fraiser's pronouncement Daniel was indeed 'fine'.

"Yeah, Jack, I remember," Daniel muttered, stifling a sudden pang of resentment.

"So – keys," Jack demanded again, holding out his hand.

Sighing, Daniel fished his car keys out of his jacket pocket and dropped them in Jack's waiting palm.  "I even remember where we parked.  Need me to prove it?" he retorted a little meanly.

"You scared the crap out of me, Daniel," Jack harshly blurted, not repenting his attitude an iota even in the face of Daniel's.  "I thought that thing had completely disintegrated you or something.  I couldn't see you for a second and then – you were – "

Couldn't see him? That was right, for an instant, he couldn't see Jack, he wasn't there  – and then –

"I'm fine, Jack," Daniel gave his partner's arm a reassuring squeeze as they entered the elevator.  Jack slouched against the back of the ascending metal box, his arms folded across his chest, glaring at Daniel and still simmering.